Monday, September 23, 2013

iPhone 5S Touch ID bypassed with a Latex Fingerprint


It may be one of the most advanced fingerprint sensors of our time, but it didn't take long for a hacker group to crack it, using a technique you've probably seen in movies that was been used - with slight variations - to trick other fingerprint sensors.

The CCC (Chaos Computer Club) showed how it is possible to grab fingerprint and trasnfer it to a thin latex skin that allows you to unlock the iPhone. This is a group that has long battled the fingerprint biometrics, arguing that it's far easier to physically force you to place a finger on the reader than to tell a PIN code - not to mention the legal implications we've talked about before).

For me, it's a simple case of commodity versus security. Do you stop using a key to unlock your doors even though anyone with a bit of training can lockpick it in a matter of seconds or minutes? And not to mention your iPhone is something you usually keep close by and don't leave unattended. If someone is willing to go through all the trouble of getting your fingerprint and duplicate it, they'll might as well drug you and place your finger on the sensor - or torture you to give them your PIN/password. There are no 100% sure methods.

In the end, nothing stops you from using other things harder to replicate: some people have tried it with: toes; cat paws; nipples; nose... and -yep, if you imagined it, someone actually tried it- their penis (no video iof it, we'll have to belive a tweet confirming it).

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